Guild Wars 2

Wall of text and story inc.

I’ve been playing since just after release. Created multiple toons and leveled most simultaneously. Didn’t really fall in love with any, all had weaknesses and strengths some more appearant on one side or the other. Then I rolled a Mesmer. Got to say it kickskitten I nabbed sword+pistol and have a GS. GS by far and wide my favorite, not sure I enjoy s&p so much. I’m looking for a mostly pve leveling build that’s suitable for wvw, not looking at doing spvp until after I hit 80. I’m hoping for a GS-centric build with a focus on clones and/or mind wracks. My current theory crafted spec is as follows: 20-20-0-0-30. Priority being given to Illusions during leveling with secondary being Dueling for the crits/mobility/bleeds in mostly that order. Majors would be: mental torment/GS training, PFury/DEvasion, PWrack/haste/IP. With MT being substituted with empowered illusions(advice?) and compounding power being a leading competitor.

I just wanted to ask whether or not I was on the right track and I this build would be acceptable for both leveling and endgame play. Any advice is appreciated.

I’m not an expert by any stretch, but I’ve read the forums enough and watch enough videos to be able to put in some input. GS is fun, but make sure early on you learn all the moves for all the weapons, you never know when you’ll find a really awesome torch and want to use it.

That build is decent(though it lacks defense), though with 30 points in illusion you really really need a staff. Staves do the most condition damage and have arguably the best phantasm. Plus, illusionary elasticity makes the staff super strong. In fact, unless you really hate it, I think every mesmer should have a staff. staff4 and staff5 are worth the price of admission alone and it’s the most flexible weapon we have(I’m running staff+sword/pistol myself).

If you want to go heavy on the shattering, on the otherhand, you may want to consider scepter. Scepter is great on creating clones, scepter1 and scepter2 both create clones, with the auto attack doing it fairly quickly, and the confusion benefits from the condition damage in the illusion trait. You could go crazy and go scepter/sword, which will give you even more clone production(/sword is the only off hand that makes clones) giving you crazy clone making and defense in your main set, and you can have another weapon set for other purposes(I’d say staff, by GS can work).

I’ve been thinking s&p is not working so well. At most ill use it for my third set of clones/phantasms by dumping GS clone/phantasm swapping for iduelist replacing first clone and swapping places for #2 dodge out hit with #5 swap back to GS and MW and immediately bring out next full wave of clones/phantasms. Is the torch really that good, the long CDs really put me off. Same with pistol, tbh. I really, really, enjoy the GS and while staff is amazing for conditions/all around I’m not a huge fan of the feel, though I do keep a staff I’m my bags with near regular updates to it.

The process of thinking for me on this build was spawn my 3clones/phantasms let them do their abilities and bleed the mob MW then bring out a refreshed set. After second set F2 for confusion. Start third set, weapon swap for iduelist, continue damage swapping weapon when up MW rinse/repeat. I gravitate towards faster combat which made GS fit naturally. Plus the Asura animations>rest of game.

Man.. you are really missing out on a lot of really amazing gameplay by not using Staff.. By far and away the most useful weapon we get. I am running Staff/ 1hsword/focus and getting GREAT mileage out of it. I do love GS as well though..
But if I have to chose between GS and Staff im keeping staff..

My current theory crafted spec is as follows: 20-20-0-0-30. Priority being given to Illusions during leveling with secondary being Dueling for the crits/mobility/bleeds in mostly that order. Majors would be: mental torment/GS training, PFury/DEvasion, PWrack/haste/IP. With MT being substituted with empowered illusions(advice?) and compounding power being a leading competitor.

That’s similar to the spec I use for PvE pew pew pew.

You should definitely try out the Elasticity trait with Mirror Blade.

MT vs. Empowered Illusions: MT is better for fast kills on most things in that build. Empowered Illusions is stronger for kiting at max range, or running around. E.g. any situation where you don’t feel comfortable running up and dropping a 3x+IP Mind Wrack every 10 seconds. EI is also better if you are running Phantasmal Haste and plan to leave your phantasms up for sustained periods.

I wouldn’t get Painful Wrack. Compounding Power is more useful in general. Then again I’m currently using Painful Wrack so I can laugh at more MW crits. Lols.

Sidenote:

Staff is good but it is overrated. Staff is good for defense, but I just kill kitten.

Staff is really good at higher levels with +condition dmg, Elasticity, and the -20% recharge (Tougness T2 trait). Stuff starts to melt at that point.

Toss in the 50 ways to get chaos armor and it becomes amazing.

Oh don’t get me wrong. Staff is awesome for its abilities and how well it jives with Illusion tree, however I don’t enjoy it nearly as much as the GS. Maybe that will change in the later part of the game, but I don’t think it’s highly likely. I will say that I do think most are correct that the staff is in many ways superior to GS for my build, but I’m maiming mobs with GS to great efficiency many times pulling 3+ mobs and an occasional veteran and mowing them down.

Sword and pistol is the only thing I’m unsure of, does the pistol really work that well or would something else be more effective? Friends said torch or s&s but torches long CDs has me resistant in the regard.

Also my stat weighting will be focused on power while maintaining moderate crit% (35%+/-). The condition dmg from Illusion is just the jelly to my builds peanut butter.

I need to practice more with GS — my issues with GS have to do with fighting multiple foes. The only option I seem to have there is mirror blade for damage and GS #5 for the push-back. The mirror blade doesn’t hinder the foes at all, just hits hard. So after the initial push back I’m back in touble with a pile of mobs on me.

I’m sure it’s a L2P thing, and I haven’t spent enough time with GS to over the hump.

Pistol is ok but highly overrated.

Torch is bad unless you’re using very specific builds that work with it. Or you just really really want the stealth.

Sword OH is pretty potent. For power builds, it’s basically an upgraded version of Pistol with more damage, more defense, but less range of course.

Focus is highly potent in general but has a learning curve. It also has longer cooldowns than OH Sword or Pistol, so you would only be using it as a swap weapon and not sitting in it for any length of time.

juno.1840:

I need to practice more with GS — my issues with GS have to do with fighting multiple foes. The only option I seem to have there is mirror blade for damage and GS #5 for the push-back. The mirror blade doesn’t hinder the foes at all, just hits hard. So after the initial push back I’m back in touble with a pile of mobs on me.

I’m sure it’s a L2P thing, and I haven’t spent enough time with GS to over the hump.

Greatsword took me a little while to get used to. I eventually found a rhythm that works for my play style. I use staff as my second weapon set. Usually, I open with Greatsword (mirror blade, berserker) and if I face a situation against multiple foes, I switch to the staff. If I time it quickly enough, I may be able to drop a chaos storm around my foes and my illusions. This will improve their survivability. I run in and phase retreat for the third clone (assuming the other 2 are still standing if chaos storm procs aegis). I run in circles within the storm so I too can benefit from the buffs. Then, depending on the timing of my cooldowns I may shatter then switch back to greatsword to bring out another group.

Most of the time, my targets die long before I get through this basic rotation and many times it varies fight to fight as I have to adapt to different situations.

I haven’t had any issues in situations where I was able to kite. If I was surrounded by mobs or brought in 5+ mobs than intended then it gets hairy. I’ll give sword sword a try and since the second set of weapons is just for swaps while GS is on cd I’ll give focus a shot. Worse comes to worse I may just use a GS/staff combo for max range options and I don’t think anyone can argue staff’s versatility.

Pistol can be good with the right set of traits. iDuelist can do some pretty crazy damage with sharper images and phantasmal haste, especially if they fire through a combo field, and pistol 5 is one of best and most straight forward hard CC abilities a mesmer has, though like pistol 4 it works best 1 on 1. Pistol is basically what you use if you want to stack up ST effectiveness. I wouldn’t use it with a great sword, as GS is already pretty good with that. With a GS main, I would defiantly use sword/focus as my other weapon set if I didn’t want to use staff for some reason. Sword provides melee damage, and focus can keep you at a range.

I would go GS/Staff though, it is difficult to justify not having a staff on a mesmer right now. While it’s true staff1 isn’t all that great without condition damage(though with condition damage it’s damage is insane), the rest of the abilities are amazing. Plus illusionary elasticity works with both GS and staff, so there’s that.

Thanks to all of you for providing not only constructive feedback but also for backing up your info. Please feel free to keep it coming.

I loved GS when I first played Mesmer in beta, but quickly grew to dislike it because in PvE the foes are constantly moving closer to you which seriously hurts your DPS. I got tired of trying to keep them at a distance so it could do decent damage. Now that I’ve gotten over my love for GS and went with Staff/Scepter+Focus, I don’t miss it at all. My killing speed is so much faster, especially with Scepter+Focus. I just pop an iWarden, hit #2 twice to blind the foe (so my illusion doesn’t die), and then channel #3. Very few regular foes can survive through that, and those that do are finished off with a shatter… no kiting required.

I use Gs as a secondary weapon. Sometimes I start combat with it use number 4 to cripple everyone. Then just attack them for a bit and as they get close press 5 and then as they get close again. I switch to sword/focus(my main weapons) (build is 10/20/15/20/5) press 3 then 5 then 3 then 2 and usually most mobs are dead. Which I dont get hit even once, even against multy mobs with this.

However usually I start with sword/focus so I can either use number 4 to pull all enemies into okittenup(you must learn this skills well to know where to place it to pull all enemies together). Are use number 4 to set up a well where all long range people have there shots reflex back at them.
While I deal with melee people.

So many other things to do with it.

Number 4 on focus is the very best control skill we have and number 5 is about 3rd maybe 4th best.

It funny in WvW there was this Engi tossing gereande and stuff.

I set up number 4 and then watch him kill himself, I even wave at him.

HE died so fast, it was funny as hell.

Well with d/tc/fb/bf out of ever 40 secs, I can keep my self unable for long range to hurt me 29secs of the time out of 40 secs.(once I get to where I cna use IW perfect it will be 100% of the time where projectiles cant hit me.)

So I had a nice long post typed out here…and it got eated.

To sum up, Sword/Focus & Greatsword…swap to Staff for big fights.

Attributes: 0/20/0/30/20.
Traits:
none
IV & X
none
V, VII & XI
V & X

Armour: Knight’s Sword, Coat, Leggings, Amulet & Rings; Carrion Mask, Epaulets, Gloves, Boots & Earrings. Rampagers Greatsword & Staff. Runes: Undead. Sigils S/F: Stamina & Restoration; GS: Energy, Staff: Fire.

I use GS/Staff almost exclusively. I recently tried to switch to Sword-Focus just to inject some variety into my playstyle, but I dropped it after an hour and went to get another staff. My Mesmer just hit sixty and runs 0/20/0/0/30 with extra bouncing and dodgy clones (and recently self-shatter). I also always pack Mirror Images and Decoy, so I’m a lot more restrained by my Mind Wrack and Cry of Frustration cooldowns (which at 30 Illusions isn’t terribly long) than by my ability to generate illusions.

In my admittedly limited experience, with this build at least, the key is balancing cooldowns between burst and survivability. Long duration or frequently recurring instances of Immobilize is the only thing I ever have trouble with (assuming I’m not playing sloppily). I have multiple stun breaks for the rest, and my last Utility is usually Feedback so I have an option to deal with mobs that prefer to stay at range without having to LOS them.

I’ve had a hard time getting comfortable with the sword since I can’t use the leap as an opener, but I’ve never had an issue with GS1 slowing me down when the mobs are in melee, and I don’t really feel any pressure to always kite. I’m almost always doing something else anyway. As people have already said, Elasticity is a monster with Mirror Blade and Winds (and Siren’s Call when you need it), and since Mirror summons a clone it benefits from the cdr from the Illusion tree. Part of my preference for this build and these weapons arises from my deep abiding conviction that mobility is everything, and the sword is antithetical to that. Yeah, you get the phenomenal Distortion ability, but I don’t want to have to think about being in range all the time. In a big fight I’m swapping weapons almost every time it comes off cooldown anyway, hitting Mind Wrack and Cry whenever they’re off cooldown (unless a phantasm hasn’t gotten it’s first attack off, in which case I might wait for that to finish first), and dodging any time a blow is coming my way unless it will waste a clone. So I spend most of my time just barely out of melee range (but in range of my Storm and self-bounces), and I put out a very satisfying amount of AOE.